Refrigerating unit



Oct. 1, 1935. H. E. ELROD REFRIGERATING UNIT 5 Sheets- Sheet 1 INVENTOR.HemzyEElrod ATTORNEYJ man 770M 10 J!!! TC)! 4170 If/1M1 ION 80.

Oct. 1 1935. 4 H. E. ELROD REFRIGERATING UNIT Filed March 14, 1930 1- 46af7 4/ Z? 56 11 E7 a J7 as BY' 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

A TTORNEYJ Oct. 1, 1935. H. E. ELROD REFRIGERATING UNIT Filed March 14,1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 W WE mu. m 2

A TTORNEYJ' Filed March 14, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 1, 1935. H. E.ELROD REFRIGERATING UNIT Filed Maz ch 14, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet- 5 6R0!war w s st. 1, 192.5

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a condenser unit comprising,essentially, a motor, a compressor, a coil, a tan, and a heat-radiatingenclosing hood for the coil, motor, and fan. The

6 unit is so designed that although it may be built into arefrigeratingbox at the factory, it may be equally well 'applied to anordinary ice box to convert the same into a mechanical refrigerator. I

According to the embodiment of the invention to be describedhereinafter, the motor is mounted within the coil in coaxial relationthereto and the fan and compressor, which latter is pretervably of therotary type, are coaxial with the 16 1 motor. The elements are allsupported by a base plate, the motor and fan being disposed at one sideof the plate and the compressor at the other side in a housingpreferably integral with the plate. A hood of heat-radiating materialsurrounds the coil in proximity thereto and has air openings throughwhich air is drawn and expelled by the fan, the air in its passagesthrough the hood passing along the coil to cool the same. The hoodradiates outwardly heat transmitted thereto from the coil and alsoserves to protect the mechanism enclosed by it. It oifers a furtheradvantage, as over an exposed coil, in that dust and dirt do not readilygather on it and it may be easily cleaned.

As I have stated, a rotary compressor most effectively enters into thecombination, and the invention includes such a compressor of simplifiedand compact form, as well as a lubricating system therefor.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrative of the invention, I

. Fig. 1' is an axial section through the unit, parts being shown inelevation,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged axial section through the rotary compressor shownin Fig. l, Fig, 2a is a trans-axial section through a compressor piston,Fig. 3 is a plan view of a part of the compressor, 45, Fig. 4 is abottom plan view ofa cylinder block i'orming a part of the compressor,

Fig. 5 is .an axial section through a second and preferred form 0!compressor, Fig. 6 is a plan view' of a cylinder block forming apart ofthe compressor oi. Fig. 5, and

Fig. '1 is a plan view of a cam and valve plate forming a part of thecompressor of Fig. 5. In Fig. 1, reference numeral I0 designates acircular horizontal base plate having centrally a valve plate forming.thereof a cylindrical. depending integral skirt H.

Plate I0 is provided with a central circular aperture l2 surrounded byan up-standing collar I3. A condensing coil rests on the upper marginsof plate I 9 with its axis perpendicular to the plate. The coiLoutlet l5to an expansion valve, 5 not shown, passes downwardly through aperipheral recess I6 of plate II).

An electric motor I! is mounted on a tripod l8, whose legs are securedto plate l0, coaxially with coil I4 and with its armature shaft "3 pass-10 motor is a fan 23, here shown as comprising four blades, adapted,upon armature rotation, to draw air into the hood through holes 20,circulate it upwardly along the coil, and expel it from the hood throughaperture 2|.

A conduit 24 for the electrical conductors to the motor and to a thermoswitch (not shown) is secured to themotor casing and extends downwardlythrough an aperture in plate In. The

conductors may be led to the conduit 24 through a hole 20 of hood I! anda T coupling 25 interposed in the conduit.

To install the condenser unit in an ice refrigerator, it" will beevident that it will only be necessary to cut holes in the top of thebox above the ice compartment to receivepipe I 5,

conduit 24, and skirt ll, plate l0 then being 40 adapted to restdirectly on the top of the box.

The inlet end of coil I, through a connection 25, is in communicationwith the interior of skirt H.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, skirt I l is closed at its lower endby means of a circular plate 21 having a flat-topped, raised portion 28extending upwardly within the skirt. Portion 28 is centrally bored toreceive the lower end of shaft l8. Fixed to shaft it immediately aboveportion 28, and having a lower flat face resting upon the faceof thelatter, is a cylindrical block 29 fixed in position. by means of a setscrew". Block 29 is provided with a number of bores parallel-to shaft Itand with their axes defining 5 a circle concentric with the shaft. Inthese bores are slidable pistons 3| whose upper ends are guided in aflange 32 of an upwardly extending sleeve 33 integral, as here shown,with block 29. A cam ring 34 is secured by meansof a flange 35 to thelower margins of aperture I2 and has an axially projecting cam face 36opposed to and in the circle of pistons 3|.

Intermediate block 29 and fiange 32 pistons 3| are provided with annulargrooves, as at 31, Fig. 2a, in which are engaged spring staples: 38.Interposed between staples or abutments 38 and block 29 are compressionsprings 39 which yieldingly urge the upper chamfered extremities ofpistons 3| against cam face 36. Upon rotation of block 29 pistons 3|will be reciprocated by the cam and springs.

Beneath the rotary path of the pistons portion 28 of plate 21 isprovided with arcuate grooves 40 and 4|, separated by lands 42 and 43.Groove 40 is in communication with pipe 44 leading from an expansioncoil, not shown, while groove 4|, by means of a duct 45, is incommunication with a stand pipe 46 whoseupper end terminates below andshort of plate Ill. The upwardly moving pistons 3|, or those followingthe cam face, are above groove 48 and draw the refrigerant into theircylinders. The downwardly moving pistons, that is, those following thecam rise, are above groove 4| and expel the refrigerant undercompressive force through the groove, duct 45, and stand pipe 46 intothe top of the chamber defined by skirt At the high and low points ofthe cam the pistons are over the lands.

A ring 41 is secured to the upper edge of collar l3 andinterposed-between the collar and ring is a gasket 48 having welded toits lower face a sylphon gland 49. To the lower extremity of the sylphongland is welded a ring 50 having a lower seat receiving a packing ring5|. Ring 5| is pressed against a shoulder of sleeve 33 by a compressionspring 52 interposed between rings 41 and 50. Thus an air-tight joint isprovided between the upper and lower sides of plate ID.

A sleeve 53, secured at its upper end to flange 35, extends downwardlyto within a short distance of portion 28, surrounding the rotary partsof the compressor. This sleeve defines a chamber which is sealed at thebottom thereof by the body of oil upon the exterior of the sleeve whichhas imposed above its surface the compressor pressure. The body of oilupon the interior of the sleeve continually surrounds the movingelements requiring lubrication and furthermore extends to a level abovethat normally assumed by the oil in the skirt H, as explained in thefollowing paragraph. Initially, ring 4'! is loosened and lubricant isintroduced through an aperture normally closed by a plug 54, into thechamber defined by skirt until its level is shortly below the top ofstand pipe 46. The lubricant thus introduced flows under and upwardly insleeve 53 until it reaches its level. Plug 54 is replaced and thecompressor operated until the pressure exerted on top of the lubricantbody intermediate skirt H and sleeve 53 causes the lubricant to showunder ring 41, whereupon the latter is tightened in place.

Due to the described arrangement it will be seen that the compressorrotor works in a body of lubricant which is under the compressorpressure and thus necessarily reaches all moving parts. The lubricantbath renders the compressor noiseless in operation and assures perfectlubrication of its parts. The lubricant need be I shaft l8.

' upper end intocollar 3.

replenished only at long intervals, and if desired it may be drained outupon removal of a plug 55. A duct 56' gives the lubricant ready accessto the bottom bearing of shaft l8. s

In Figs. 5 to 7 the parts identical with those already described havebeen given the same reference numerals.

Referring to these figures, skirt H is closed by a plate 21 having araised portion 28' provided with a central bore receiving the lower endof Portion 28' is bounded laterally by an upstanding flange ring 34"whose outer wall is concentric with shaft l8 but whose inner wall iseccentric thereto. Block 29' is provided with radial bores in whichpistons 3| are slidable, the inner ends of the bores being adapted tocommunicate by means of axially extending ducts 51 with arcuate grooves48' and 4| formed in portion 28 and separated by,lands 4'2 and 43'.Groove 48' is in communication with pipe 44 while groove 4|, throughducts 45 and 45", is in communication with stand pipe 46'. A sleeve 33restingon block 29' and surrounding shaft I8 has a shoulder at its upperend for cooperation with the packing instrumentalities alreadydescribed.

It will be understood the lubricating arrangements are the same as thosedescribed above.

Upon rotation of block 29 pistons 3| will be urged against the opposedcam face 36 by centrifugal force and by a certain amount of backpressure existing at their inner ends to draw the refrigerant throughport 40' into the cylinders. As the pistons are forced inwardly due tothe cam rise, the refrigerant will be compressed and expelled throughport 4|. It is believed that the operation will be perfectly clear fromthe preceding description of the compressor of Figs. 1 to 4, the greatadvantage of this second form of course being that springs such as 33(Fig. 1)

are entirely eliminated.

Having thus described by invention, I claim:

L'The combination with a compressor, of an enclosed chamber in whichsaid compressor is disposed, a vertically disposed actuating shaft andassociated mechanisms for said compressor, an electric motor outside ofsaid enclosed chamber for driving said actuating shaft, a sleeve havinga substantial diameter defining an' auxiliary compartment surroundingsaid shaft and mechanisms and communicating with said chamber at thelower end thereof, means for tightly packing said shaft in saidcompartment, said chamber being partially filled with a body oflubricant, means for establishing the compressor pressure above thelubricant body, said body of lubricant furthermore cooperating with saidauxiliary compartment to continually maintain said compartment filledwith lubricant.

2. The combination with a compressor, of an enclosed chamber in whichsaid compressor'is disposed, a vertically disposed actuating shaft andassociated mechanisms for said compressor,

an electric motor outside of said enclosed chamber for driving saidactuating shaft, an open-ended sleeve defining an auxiliary compartmentsur-' rounding said shaft and mechanisms and opening into said'chamber;at the lower end thereof, means for tightly packing said shaft in saidcompartment, said chamber being partially filled with a body oflubricant, an outlet for said compressor discharging into the chamberabove the lubricant body, a chamber outlet above said lubri- Sleeve 53is threaded at its cant body, said lubricant body furthermore formofsaid outlets.

3-. The combination with a compressor, of an enclosed chamber in whichsaid compressor is disposed, a vertically disposed actuating shaft andassociated mechanisms for said compressor,

an open-ended sleeve, partially defining an auxiliary compartmentopening into said chamber at the lower end thereof, surrounding saidshaft and mechanisms;.a cover for said compartment, a packing member forsaid shaft near the top of said compartment, a yielding tightgland-surrounding said shaft intermediate said cover and said packingmember, said chamber being par-.'-

tiallyfilied with a body of lubricant, means for establishing thecompressor pressure above the lubricant body to raise the level of thelubricant body in said compartment to maintain the said packing memberand said operating mechanisms continually lubricated, and a chamberoutlet above said lubricant body.

4. The combination with acompressor, of an enclosed chamber in whichsaid compressor is disposed, a vertically disposed actuating shaft andassociated mechanisms for said compressor, an open-ended sleeve,partially defining an auxiliary compartment opening into said chamber atthe lower end thereof, surrounding said shaft and mechanisms, a coverfor said compartment, a packing member for said shaft near the top ofsaid. compartment, a yielding tight gland surrounding said shaftintermediate said cover and said packing member, said chamber beingpartially filled with a body of lubricant, said body of lubricantcooperating with the open end of said sleeve to form a liquid sealbetween the compressor mechanisms and the tight gland within saidcompartment.

5. The combination of a pressure chamber, a. 5

pump mechanism at the bottom of said chamber, an operating shaft forsaid pump mechanism extending from the top of said chamber, a tightgland sealing the exit of said shaft through said chamber, packing meanscomprising a sleeve forming a compartment around said shaft and pumpmechanism and terminating a short distance above the bottom of saidchamber, and a lubricating medium sealing the interior of saidcompartment from said chamber subjected in the latter to the pressuregenerated by'the pump mechanism.

, enclosed-chamber in whichsaid compressor is disposed,- a verticallydisposed actuating shaft and associated mechanisms for said compressor,an open-ended sleeve, partially defining an auxiliary compartmentopening 'into said chamber at the lower end thereof, surrounding saidshaft, a cover for said compartment, a packing member for said shaftnear the top of said compartment, a yielding tight gland surroundingsaid shaft intermediate said cover and said packing member, said chamberbeing partially filled with a body of lubricant, said body of lubricantcooperating and extending above the open end of said sleeve to form aliquid seal between the compressor mechanisms and the tight gland withinsaid compartment, the body of lubricant covering also the compressormechanisms.

HENRY E. ELROD.

' after "chamber," in line 8; and

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,016,082. 4 October 1, 1935.

HENRY E. ELROD.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3,second column, line 10, claim 5, strike out the words "packing meanscomprising" and insert the same line 30, claim 6, after "coonerating"insert the word with; and that the said Letters Patent should be readwith these corrections therein that the-same may conform to the recordof the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of November, A. D. 1935. 1

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

